A Bedtime Story
by claudiastar
Summary: Lily and James are putting baby Harry to bed. Warning: extreme fluff content. OneShot, please review.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That honour belongs to all powerful goddess J.K Rowling

Author's Note: A little piece of fluff I wrote because no one gave me any homework and I was in a corny mood. Enjoy the Potter family love.

A Bedtime Story

James Potter stood at the half-open door of his son's bedroom grinning stupidly. It was certainly a lovely room, small and neat. The walls were clean and white, there was thick red and blue patterned carpet on the floor. Soft toys were drawn up, like soldiers on parade on top of the heavy oak chest drawers. A cot, dressed with asatisfyingly soft and fluffy pile of blankets and decorated with tiny golden snitches, which James had spent hours lovingly painting on by hand, stood in one corner. The last of the days light poured in through the open window, heavy and sweet, turning the whole room the colour of honey. The ceiling was perhaps the masterpiece of the room. It was painted a deep velvet blue and strewn with a haphazard whirl of gold and silver stars that were enchanted to shimmer gently in the dark. A fairy-tale of a night sky.

None of this however had James' attention. That was all reserved for the little woman sitting the rocking chair, with red hair that curled distractingly over her ears and tilted green-glass eyes, and the round, untidy baby she held on her lap. His family. Lily was holding a teddy bear just out of Harry's reach and laughing he stretched out soft round hands to grab it from her. She looked up, eyes shining, and saw him watching her, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Hello my love," she said "have you come to say goodnight?" He nodded

James padded softly across the room, bare feet sinking into the carpet, to join her. He put his hands gently on her shoulders and kissed her on the forehead. He loved the warm smoothness of her skin and the way she smelt- the spicy clean scent of the soap she used mixed with something flowery that was all her own. Harry gave a gurgle and reached up a dimpled arm, snatching at James' nose. Lily gave a delighted laugh. "Look James," she said excitedly, voice bursting with maternal pride "he knows you!"

"Of course he does. Why wouldn't he know his Daddy?" James told her, dropping down onto to he knees and reaching out to tickle Harry's stomach. He was rewarded by a bubbling stream of giggles from his small son.

Lily rolled her eyes as if to say "_boys_" but softened it with an indulgent smile. "I was just going to tell him a story and then put him down for the night" she said softly.

James nodded sitting back on his heels. "Do you think he really understands your stories?" he asked in a tone of mild curiosity.

"Well I personally think he understands every word. But then my stories are works of art, so naturally he listens very attentively." She replied with a superior expression on her face and a bright thread of laughter running through her voice.

James nodded seriously. "Well, what is tonight's story going to be about, oh Scheherazade, master of the fantastic, and queen of suspense?"

"Oh I don't know" she replied vaguely "princes and princesses I suppose"

"Go on then, my lovely"

Lily's eyes sparkled, and her voice low and musical, began to speak, rocking back and forward as she did so, the creaks of the chair lending rhythm to her voice.

"Once upon a time, a very long time ago of course and in a faraway land where adventures really do happen, there was a brave young prince called-"

"James" her husband interjected, looking at her with obstinate expression. She gave a slight shrug, as if accepting this, but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"And one day, while James was riding through a dark and mysterious forest in quest of damsels to rescue or dragons to slay, he came by accident to the secret cave layer of a vengeful and bitter old Warlock, who turned poor James into an ugly horned toad! Oh no Harry isn't that awful." Shetold the baby.

James snorted, aggrieved. "Was the evil Warlock called Snivellus Snape by any chance?" he asked sulkily, his shoulders hunched in a moody way.

"Very possibly" Lily replied in a serene voice. "He may also have had greasy black hair and a hooked nose. Poor James was miserable, you see he had always thought himself a very handsome young man, and, after all, how was one supposed to slay dragons and win the favour of the King when all one could do was croak disconsolately and gulp down flies?"

"Fortunately," James interrupted "just as he was sitting by a pond feeling very depressed a beautiful princess called Lily came walking by. She recognised straight a way that he was under a spell, kissed him on the nose, and he turned back into a handsome prince at once. They got married and lived happily ever after." He said all this very fast,

Lily was not impressed. "Oh no you don't!" she laughed, shaking a slim finger at him "It's not as easy as that. And anyway, this is my story. He hopped around the forest for a long time, living off flies and feeling very sorry for himself. The forest was damp and cold and full of who knows what dangerous creatures. Of course in his princely shape he wouldn't have been afraid at all, but how was a toad supposed to fight off marauding beasts? He was very lonely. Don't you feel sorry for him Harry darling?" she asked her son softly, who made a bubbling noise she took for assent. James sighed quietly, leaning his head against Lily's knee, relaxing into the story.

"One night there was a terrible storm in the forest, the wind howled like a beast in pain and the rain lashed the trees viciously. James was alone in the forest and lost. Suddenly out of the air, and hidden by the noise of the storm a giant eagle swooped down- like this!" she scooped Harry up and span him round and down, back onto her lap. He gave a cry of delight. James laughed.

"It snatched poor James up in its claws. He was very scared."

"No he wasn't!" her husband protested stubbornly.

"Yes he was! He thought he was going to be eaten. They flew for miles and miles over the dark shadows of the forest until eventually they were over the top of a tall stone tower, half crumbling and swaying in the storm. Luckily just at moment a terrible gust of wind blew the eagle of course. It dropped poor James with a shriek. He fell twisting and tumbling through the air and thought he was going to be squashed, but instead he fell in at the tower window and found himself face to face with-"

"Princess Lily?" called James eagerly.

"No" said Lily coolly "With an old and wise magician called-"

"Albus Dumbledore." suggested James

"That's right." Lily said smiling "Now this magician took one good hard look at James and saw immediately that he was under a curse. So he hunted through the tower for a way to take the curse off. He was a very kind magician. He mixed hundreds of different herbs in a golden cauldron. He conjured a magical purple fire. He read through all his dusty leather bound books, and eventually he found an answer. He came to James and looked at him over the top of his spectacles while stroking his long white beard. 'Well' he said in thoughtful voice 'you have been a very vain and arrogant boy haven't you?"

"I have not!" her husband called indignantly

"Said James," Lily continued smoothly " 'The only way I can see for you to return to your true shape is to lose your vanity by making a good woman fall in love with you, even in this ugly guise, and be seeing beyond the appearances of those you meet.' 'But how can I do that?' James asked in horror 'no woman will ever fall in love with me like this.' He hopped away disgusted."

For a moment James stared then he burst out laughing, putting his head on his knees, shaking and gasping for breath. When he could talk again he asked "What happened then?"

Lily smiled and shifted Harry's weight slightly in her arms before continuing. "One day as he was hopping through the forest, searching for a beautiful woman who could fall in love with him, he found a huge and scaly dragon sitting alone beneath a giant oak tree and crying its eyes out. Being a kind person really he hopped over to the dragon to ask what the matter was. 'I'm s-so l-lonely' the dragon told him in between sobs 'No one wants to talk to a huge scary dragon.' James could relate to the dragons problem- no one liked toads much either. Having this in common the two soon became firm friends. James discovered that she (for it was a girl dragon), was really a very sensitive and intellectual person- who understood the nobility of the knightly quest. One sunny afternoon he found himself turning to the dragon and saying 'You know I never thought a dragon could be so understanding. I think you're the loveliest person I've ever met.'" Here James snorted indignantly and opened his mouth as if to protest. Lily however continued before he had a chance to interrupt. "At that point there was a sudden whirl of golden light and instead of the dragon in front of him stood a beautiful princess."

"Princess Lily!" James called enthusiastically.

"Alright, if you insist. Princess Lily turned to James the toad and said 'I was turned into a dragon by an evil witch until someone should see beyond my ugly exterior to my beautiful soul. Thank you, kind toad for setting me free.' And she picked James up and kissed hi on damp green nose. At once he was turned back into a handsome prince."

"And James and Lily were married and lived happily ever after." Her husband finished happily.

"Of course, that's the way all these stories go" Lily replied, a cloud came into her eyes and there was something sad in her voice.

She looked down at Harry in her lap; he was sucking his thumb and breathing softly, one hand caught in his messy tuft of black hair. "Look James," she whispered with a smile "he's fallen asleep." Very carefully, so as not to wake him, she got up and carried Harry over to the cot, putting him down gently, tucking the blankets round him and leaning down to kiss him softly on the forehead. He stirred under the blankets slightly.

James came and stood beside her, putting his arms round her waist. She sighed and lent her head against his shoulder. "Does it ever scare you?" she asked quietly, there was something very strange in her voice.

"What?"

"How much you love him."

James' face tightened and he was silent for a long time before saying "All the time. I'm so afraid of losing him."

Lily nodded "Me too, my love. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, but will that be enough? How much longer do we have left with him, with each other?"

"I don't know Lil, I only know we have to make the most of what we've got."

She nodded, then reaching down ran a finger lightly over the baby's forehead. "Goodnight darling." She whispered softly.

Tiptoeing out of the room, she and James left there son to sleep, closing the door silently behind them. The room was in darkness, apart from the flicker of the enchanted stars.

THE END

Did you enjoy it? Please review and let me know


End file.
